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Web Site Linking Policy

Revised May 12, 2010

Throughout its website, www.city.milwaukee.gov, the City of Milwaukee provides links to various external web sites. We do this as a public service for the benefit of citizens and other site visitors by helping them find easily the information they seek, whether it exists on the City’s website or elsewhere.

However, the City's web site does not and cannot include links for everything. The City of Milwaukee will choose the external web sites to which it will link based on whether the linked sites provide useful and appropriate information about the City and its government to residents, businesses, and visitors.

In general, links on the City's web site must satisfy a specific governmental purpose, such as promoting and protecting the public health, safety and welfare. The City of Milwaukee web site and the links that it contains are not intended to serve as a forum for public discussion or sharing of opinions.

The City will retain the right to determine whether a link to an external site will be placed on www.city.milwaukee.gov, and where and how that link will appear. Links are provided solely for the benefit of the City and users of www.city.milwaukee.gov.

The City of Milwaukee will determine the suitability of providing links on its web site. The types of links the City of Milwaukee may allow on its web site include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

Official government institutions

Accredited educational institutions

Arts, cultural, and similar organizations of general interest to City of Milwaukee citizens

The Greater Milwaukee Visitor and Convention Bureau and other organizations that provide information of value for visitors to Milwaukee

Sites that promote significant economic development in the City of Milwaukee

Major festivals and professional sports teams in Milwaukee and the venues where their events are located

Internet mapping services

Free software downloads needed to access information on the City of Milwaukee web site

Sites that further the City’s governmental purposes

The types of links the City of Milwaukee shall not allow on its web site include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

Sites promoting illegal activities

Sexually explicit web sites

For-profit commercial sites, except as permitted above

Sites containing information that violates any of the City’s affirmative action or equal opportunity policies

Candidate sites and sites supporting or opposing candidates for local, state or federal office

Individual or personal home pages

The provision of a link to any site is not an endorsement of the organization or of site content. The City of Milwaukee is not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. The City reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to:

Deny a link that does not meet the criteria set forth in this policy

Deny or discontinue an external link at any time if the website provides or promotes false, slanderous, illegal, infringing or incorrect information

Remove any external link if the nature of the organization changes in such a way that it no longer complies with the City's external link policy

Revise this policy without prior notice.

Sites that are linked from the City of Milwaukee website may be reviewed periodically to confirm that the link still conforms to City policy.

The City's Chief Information Officer (CIO) will make the final determination regarding links on the City's web site, working in consultation with City staff. An appeal to that determination may be filed in writing with the Office of the City Clerk within 30 days of the determination. Appeals will be decided by the Administrative Review Appeals Board within 60 days of receipt of the written appeal.

Requests for clarification of this policy and suggestions for changes to this policy should be submitted to the City's CIO.

External Link Disclaimer

The City of Milwaukee External Link Disclaimer reads as follows:

"Click any link below to open a new browser window containing a page from the independent web site for the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works. Each link below will open a page in a new browser window. When you have finished viewing the page(s), you may return to the Milwaukee.gov web site simply by closing the new window(s).

Note: Content contained on independent departmental web pages is not searchable through the Milwaukee.gov."